HOWHY
How it works
Seven steps from an estimate to your door. The important one is step five: you approve the final quote before anything is paid or shipped.
The process
Estimate shipping
Enter what you plan to buy — approximate weight, size and destination — and get a preliminary estimate. It is itemised and clear about what it excludes.
Purchase and ship to the partner warehouse
Buy your items from the seller of your choice and address the delivery to the designated partner warehouse in China, using the receiving details shown in the app. Register each incoming package so it can be matched on arrival.
Warehouse receives, weighs and measures
The warehouse records the arrival, actual weight and dimensions of every package. These recorded facts — not your own estimates — are what the quote is built on.
Final quote
When you ask to consolidate, the warehouse packs your packages into one parcel and measures it. The system calculates the final quote from the applicable chargeable weight, the selected shipping service and verified fees. A new measurement always produces a new quote.
Review and approve
You see the itemised final quote and decide. Nothing proceeds until you accept it. If a quote is superseded or expires, you are asked again.
Pay
Payment is taken only against an accepted, current quote, and always before international shipment.
Ship and follow
The parcel is dispatched with the available shipping service and you follow its verified milestones.
Estimate versus final quote
- Estimate: preliminary, based on what you enter, non-binding.
- Final quote: based on the warehouse's measurement of the packed parcel, versioned, and binding only once you accept it.
Chargeable weight
International carriers charge by whichever is greater: the parcel's actual weight or its volumetric weight (a figure derived from its dimensions). The shipping service you select defines how volumetric weight is calculated, how weight is rounded and any minimum. Your final quote shows which one applied.
Consolidation
Combining several packages into one parcel usually reduces the total shipping cost and the number of customs entries. Consolidation happens at the warehouse at your request, and the consolidated parcel is measured again before the final quote.
Assisted purchasing
For some items HOWHY can buy on your behalf. Availability is limited. A person reviews your link and quotes the full cost — item, domestic shipping and service — before anything is purchased, and you approve that quote first.